New Mexico has a stormy gambling history. When the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act was passed by the House in 1989, it looked like New Mexico might be one of the states to cash in on the Indian casino craze. Politics guaranteed that wouldn’t be the case.
The New Mexico governor Bruce King announced a working group in Nineteen Ninety to draft an accord with New Mexico Native tribes. When the working group came to an accord with two prominent local tribes a year later, Governor King declined to sign the agreement. He would hold up a deal until 1994.
When a new governor took office in 1995, it seemed that Native gaming in New Mexico was now a certainty. But when the new Governor passed the accord with the Native bands, anti-gambling forces were able to tie the deal up in courts. A New Mexico court found that Governor Johnson had overstepped his bounds in signing the compact, therefore costing the state of New Mexico many hundreds of thousands of dollars in licensing fees over the next several years.
It took the CNA, signed by the New Mexico house, to get the ball rolling on a full compact between the Government of New Mexico and its American Indian tribes. A decade had been burned for gambling in New Mexico, which includes Native casino Bingo.
The not for profit Bingo business has gotten bigger from 1999. That year, New Mexico not for profit game operators brought in just $3,048. That climbed to $725,150 in 2000, and surpassed one million dollars in 2001. Non-profit Bingo earnings have grown steadily since then. 2005 saw the largest year, with $1,233,289 grossed by the owners.
Bingo is categorically beloved in New Mexico. All kinds of providers try for a slice of the action. Hopefully, the politicos are done batting over gaming as a hot button issue like they did in the 90’s. That is without doubt wishful thinking.
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